Cap applying apparatus



Aug. 4, 1953 M. BURNELL 2,647,672

CAP APPLYING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 11, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 InventorMlLo BURNELL Mia'vw Attorneys Patented Aug. 4, 1953 Milo Burnell,

Cork Specialty Decatur, Ill.,

Corporation, Decatur, Ill., a

corporation of Illinois Application February 11, 1946, Serial No.646,840

6 Claims. (Cl. 226-81) The present invention relates to cap applyingapparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for placing a cap in adesired position with respect to the circumference of a container.

The invention is particularly useful in applying caps similar to thosedisclosed in Williams Patent No. 1,743,945, issued January 14, 1930, andWilliams Patent No. 1,214,734,1ssuedFebruary 6, 1917.

A cap of the type disclosed in the two abovementioned Williams patentsincludes a top sealing gasket, and a skirt which is contractable bydownward movement of a pivoted locking lever to enable the cap to befirmly clamped upon a container mouth. Before such a cap is applied to acontainer, the locking lever is in upward or non-locking position. Afterthe cap has been loosely applied to the container, it is forced straightdown upon the container to bring `the gasket into sealing relation vwiththe container mouth. Then the locking lever is swung downwardly andoutwardly through substantially 180 so that it will extend downwardlyfrom the cap. One type of apparatus for applying such caps, forcing themto sealed position, and then moving the locking levers to lockedposition is disclosed in Mair Patents Nos. 2,351,348 and 2,351,349, bothissued June 13, 194 T When caps of the above-mentioned structure areapplied to bottles which are not circular in horizontal section, forexample, bottles which are substantially flat on two sides, as is thecase with bottles which are elliptical in cross-section, it is desirableto have the locking lever lie along a vertical line which intersects aflat wall of the bottle. Having the locking lever positioned at thispoint enables it to be more readily operated by the capping machine andthe subsequent consumer. In any event, the positioning of the lockinglever at a uniform point on each container handled greatly improves theappearance of la group of the sealed bottles or other containers.

It is usually desirable to move a bottle including two substantiallyI'lat sides through a capping machine with the flat walls extendingparallel to the line of movement of the bottle so that the greatestwidth of the bottle will thereby coincide with its direction ofmovement, In this way, the possibilities of the bottle falling forwardor backward are minimized. However, if at sided bottles move along aconveyor in this manner and if the locking lever of each cap is toextend down toward a flat side of the bottle, it has heretofore beennecessary to supply the caps to the bottles from a ca p chute in whicheach cap has its lockassignor to Crown ing lever at one side of thechute. By this prior practice, the cap was removed from the cap chutewith the locking lever already aligned with the desired ilat side of thebottle.

One important difliculty with the cap feeding system described in thepreceding paragraph was that when the locking levers were positioned atone side of the chute, the caps jammed in the chute. This is largely dueto the fact that with the weight of the locking levers at one side ofthe chute, the lower rims of adjacent caps would overlap in the chute.

Generally speaking, the present invention obviates this cap feedingdiiculty by moving the caps downwardly in the chute with their lockinglevers at the trailing or uppermost portion of the cap and then placingthe locking levers in the proper position on the bottle by rotating eachcap with respect to the bottle. With the cap locking lever thereby lyingalong a line interseating a i'lat side of the bottle, the cap is thenforced downwardly to sealed position and locked.

An important object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forplacing a cap in a desired position circumferentially of a container.

A further important object of the invention is to provide an apparatusfor placing a cap in a desired position circumferentially with respectto a container, and which apparatus is extremely simple, particularly inthat it requires no powerdriven or automatically actuated parts.

It has heretofore been usual to rotate a screw cap to a sealed positionupon a container. However, the mechanisms used for this purpose are notdesigned to position the cap at any particular point circumferentiallyof a container. In addition, when a threaded cap is rotatedcircumferentially of a container, it is also moved axially of thecontainer.

Other objects and advantages of the invention are disclosed in thefollowing specication and accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a cap applying and sealing apparatusincluding the mechanism of the present invention, portions being brokenaway.

Figure 2 is a top view of the structure shown in Figure 1, with the capturning element in cap receiving position. T

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 1 and with a portionthe cap rotating mechanism turned approximately 60 from the positionshown in Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a top view of the Figure 1 structure broken away to show butwith the cap rotating element in the position of Figure 3.

The drawings illustrate a cap applying and sealing apparatus for caps Cprovided with locklng levers L, the apparatus being similar to thatdisclosed in the above-mentioned Mair patents but with the cap turningmechanism of the present invention interposed between the cap f applyingchute and the sealing head' of thefpatent structures.

Referring to Figure 1, the numeral I3 desigfnates an endless infeedconveyor towmove an uninterrupted line of bottles or other containers IIincluding substantially flat 4sides Ila beneath a cap applying chute I2.gage the forward portion of the skirt of the lowermost cap C and the capwill drop to a horizontal position upon the bottle mouth. The bottlewill then carry the cap through a cap Vturning element I3 which willrotate the cap as hereinafter described. While the `cap is-still engagedby the element I3 the bottle will move. on. to a.` stationary plate. I4having its upper surface ush with the upper run of the conveyor I3. Whenthe bottle is positioned on the plate -III it will be pushed beneath thesealinghead I5.by the next succeeding bottle and the line of..contacting bottles on the conveyor L0. As the bottle moves beneath thesealing head I5,-its neck will strike a trip I3 which operatesthe,sealing i head I5. as described in the said Mair patents to cause thehead to descend, thereby movingthecap downwardly to sealed positionupon. the .container. A shoe Il forming. a part of vthesealing head I5descends immediately thereafterto move. the locking lever L of the capfrom the upstand.- ing position illustrated in Figurev 3 so that thelocking lever will extend downwardly from Athe cap. Aterthe sealingandvlocking elements have raisedthrough the actuation of controls describedin said Mair patents, the succeeding bottles will push the sealed bottleonto the outfeed conveyor I8 whichwill -carry'it from the apparatus.

The cap chute-I2 is of generally inverted U- shaped form in thatI .itincludes a bottom wallv and ltwo upstanding side walls 2I. Each. sidewall 2l includes an inwardly extending flange 22. at its upper end, theinner and opposededges of the top flanges. 22 thereby defining a slot y23. between them. An attendant type shown in said per end of the chutetending upwardly as in unlockedposition,

Williams patents in the y up- I2 with the locking levers exillustratedin Figure 1, i. e.,

and `with `the locking -lever atthe trailing or uppermost side of-the-cap C.- r

The slot 23; is of suicient width to enable. the locking levers to moveYfreelyv along the same, but prevents the caps from rotatingy about theirown axes in the chute I2. With the lockinglevers positioned in thismanner, the caps cannot` become overlapped because thelockingvleversare, in effect, interposedbetween the successive caps.Hence, the caps cannot become jammedi-n the chute. As isdiagrammatically. shown 1in` Figures 2 and 3, a gate or providedadjacent the lower end of the chuteI .I2 to. normally hold the lowermostcap in theposition villustrated in Figure 1.

The cap turning mechanism includes a plate secured to blocks such .as 3lwhich, inl-turn, are iixed to a, rail 32 extending above the con.-veyors I0 and I2. A second and smallerplate 33 is. positioned in thesame plane as .the plate 30, plate 33 being supported upon a rail 34`suitably supported above the conveyors. Betel-ring A bottle iIfwill,en-e

willplace caps ofthe .damper element 2lil is.y

`vexly arcuate at "33 is'xedin an aperture in 'capping to Figure 2, itwill be observed that the opposed edges 32a, and 34a. of the rails 32and 34 serve to guide the bottles and prevent them from rotating. As isalso shown in Figure 2, the two plates 30 and 33 have their opposededges 35 and 36 aligned with the edges of the slot 23 of the capapplying chute I2 so that, in eiect, they formva straight slot31which'is a horizontal prolongation-of the chute slot 23. However, asindicated at 38, the edge 35 of plate 33 is cona point intermediate itslength, this arcuate portion being concentric with the axis ofan'upstanding stud 39 xed to the rail 32. The second plate 33 is of lesslength than -plate ,30.and its outfeed end is arcuately concave .toconform to the portion 38 of plate 33. Figures l and 2, the stud therail 32 of the .apparatus and extends upwardly through the rail andplate 33. Between rail 32 andplate 30, the stud 33 has the circular anddisc-,like .cap turning .element I3 rotatable thereon. Aspringi!surrounds the stud 33, the lower end of thespring bearing on a washer lemounted on..disc I3 and rotatable in an aperture in the plate-30. Theupper end of spring 43 contacts with ,a cap nut 45 `threaded to theupper end of the stud. The tension exerted by spring 43 upon the disc I3is insufficient to prevent the disc being. turned bythe movement yofcontainers as hereinafter described. However,v the spring preventsthedisc from over-traveling with a container.

Th disc I3 is provided with a plurality of radially extending andequidistantly spaced recesses designated I3a, I3b and I3c. While therecesses are substantially U-shaped in plan, their walls are verticallystraight and parallel with the axis of the disc. However, as best shownin Figure 3; a narrow ledge 50 extends about the lower edge of the wallsof each recess. This ledge is adapted to loosely engage a shoulder s oneach bottle. Above the ledge 5U, the opposite walls 5I and 52 of eachrecess are so spaced that they will accommodate but closely engage thegreatest diameterof a cap C, which is usually at the lower portion ofthe cap. Atthis portion of the cap, upwardly bent and spaced tongues t(Figure 3) partially enclose the locking wire which there' encircleslthe cap and the edges of these tongues provide serrations which will befrictionally engaged by the recess walls above the ledge 5U.

The inner and curved wallportion 53 of each disc recess is curved on aradius closely corresponding to that of the greatest diameter of thecap. 'The portion of the ledge 50 extending about the curved portion iscurved on a radius very slightly' larger than the radius of the bottleshoulders. vAs is illustrated in Figure 4, the radial depth of. eachrecess is such that a cap may. lie. entirely within it. The disc is ofsuch vertical depth that the plateY 30 willbe slightly spacedabove. the`caps C moving withthe disc. Also,.thediameterofdisc I3 is such that itsperipherycontorms to the concavely curved outlet edgeportionoffplate 33.The conveXly curved portionf38 of plate 30 is spaced inwardly of thediscperiphery so that a locking lever L of the cap may ireelyfmovebetween the opposed edges of. ythe plates 305 and 33 and withoutcontacting with such. edges.

The-sealinghead -I5 may be similarto that disclosed` in said Mairpatents andv will include a As is best shown in -iockinglever-operatingelement I1. The. head I5 DOSeS.

stationary and container supporting plate I4 so` that it can sealcontainers while the latter are on plate I4. Rail 34 will be notched toclear downward'movement of head I5 andelement Il.

In the operation of the above described apparatus and mechanism, bottlesor other containers II are placed upon the infeed conveyor III with theiiat sides I Ia of the bottles parallel with their line of movement asindicated by the dot and dash lines of Figure 2. 'I'he bottles willnormally be placed upon the conveyor with their narrower surfaces incontact. The edges 32a and 34a of the rails 32 and 34 will engage thenecks of the bottles to hold them in a straight line and p'revent themfrom turning. If necessary, other and lower rails may also be providedfor these pur- When a bottle reaches the position illustrated in solidlines in Figure 1, it will withdraw the lowermost cap C from the chuteagainst the restraining action of the gate or damper 24 so that the capwill fall to a horizontal but loose position on the mouth of the bottle.The pressure of the succeeding bottles moving with the conveyor I Ilwill cause the bottle and cap to move beneath the plates 30 and 33, withthe locking lever L of the cap extending upwardly through the slot 31 asshown in Figure 2. At this time, a recess of the disc I3, for example,the recess I 3a, will be at the position illustrated in Figure 2. I Inthis position, the leading side wall 5I of the recess will lie acrossthe outfeed end of the straight portion of slot 31.

With bottle II and cap C in the position illustrated in Figure 2, andwith the disc I3 positioned as there shown, the continued forwardmovement of the container in a straight line will cause the cap C toexert pressure upon the leading edge 5I of the recess I3 to therebyrotate the disc I3 in a counter-clockwise position as viewed in Figure2. However, the frictional engagement between the wire-encircled portionof the cap C` and the surfaces of the recess I 3a will cause the loosecap C to rotate relatively to the bottle mouth in a counter-clockwisedirection, while the cap moves linearly from the Figure 2 position tothat of Figure 4. The curvature at the outfeed end of the slot 31concentric with the axis of stud 39 permits this rotation of the cap inthat it provides a path for the swinging movement of the locking leverL.

By the time that the bottle has reached the position illustrated inFigures 3 and 4, the cap will have rotated 90 upon the bottle, eventhough the disc I3 has only rotated 60 during its movement from theFigure 2 position to that of Figure 4. The fact that the cap rotatesbodily about its own axis to a greater extent than the disc I3 rotatesabout stud 39 is due to the frictional effeet of the disc I3 upon thecap C', in combination with the forward or linear movement of the capwith the bottle.

After the cap and bottle have reached the position shown in Figures 3and 4, and although the bottle and cap will then still act upon the discI3 to carry it around to the position occupied by the recess I3c inFigure 2, nevertheless, the cap will no longer rotate upon the bottlebecause at that time the bottle will be moving away from the disc.Should the cap tend to turn further at this time, its locking lever willengage the straight edge 30a of plate 30, so that further rotation ofthe cap will be prevented. As a result, the locking lever and cap willremain in the position illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, i. e., with thelocking lever L extending downwardly along a line intersecting the flatside IIa-of the bottle.

Because the cap and bottle leaving disc I3 will move recess I 3a to theposition occupied by recess I3c in Figure 2, recess I3b will be in aposition to engage the cap of the next bottle.

The continued pressure of the succeeding containers upon the containerII will thereafter move it beneath the sealing head I5 when its mouthportion will contact with the trip I6 to cause the capping head todescend as described in said Mair patents to bring the usual top gasketor sealing disc of the bottle into engagement'with the lipof the bottleso that it will be substantially sealed upon the bottle. Immediatelythereafter, the shoe I'I will move downwardly to engage the upstandinglocking lever lL and move it downwardly to a locking position as is alsodescribed in the Mair patents. This will cause the cap locking wire tocontract ther seal the cap to the container. After the capping head I5and shoe I1 have lifted, the bottle will be pushed on to outfeedconveyor I8.

It will be observed that the type of caps mentioned herein, i. e., capsof the type shown in said Williams Patents Nos. 1,743,945, and 1,214,-734 may be considered as slip-type caps in that they are moved tocontainer sealing position by The invention other types of caps of theslip type and which can be frictionally engaged by an element such asthe element I3.

The terminology used in the speciication is for the purpose ofdescription and not of limitation, the scope of the invention beingindicated in the claims.

I claim:

closure device in closing relation upon a container device which ispositioned in said path, and means to then rotate one of said devices apredetermined extent with respect to the other and without varying theirrelative position lengthwise of the container device axis so that theywill be in a predetermined circumferential alignment.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, means to move a containerdevice along a predetermined path, a closure device applying means abovesaid container device moving means to position a slip-type closuredevice in closing relation upon a container device positioned in saidpath, means to then rotate one of said devices a predetermined extentwith respect to the other will be in a predetermined circumthat theywill be in sealing relation.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, a straight line conveyor tomove containers having caps loosely applied thereto, a horizontallyarranged disc element rotatable about a vertical axis which ispositioned laterally of the path of containers with said conveyor, saiddisc including a recess adapted to laterally engage a cap so thatmovement of the cap with a container will rotate said disc about itsaxis and the engageand thereby lock and furment of` the` recess .andcapwill rotate the latter with, respect tothe container.

4.Ansapparatus'of the-'character described in claim 3 wherein 4thediscis rotatable through 360 about its vaxisandincludesa plurality ofrecesses adapted to-engage lcapson successive containers. 5. In -anapparatus fof the class described, means to move a container alonga'predeter'mined path, an inclined cap chute'positioned above said pathand arranged to support a cap'in position forzremoval by a containermoving beneath the chute, avhorizontally'arranged disc element-providedwith a pluralityiof peripheral recesses each conforming to the diameterof the vcaps applied by-said chute-,said disc normally being positionedso thatanadvancing cap Will-engage and be encircled by a recess in saiddisc and being rotatable by the advancing containers to therebyfrictionallyv engage the caps to rotate them with re'- spect vto thecontainers.

f 6,.,In an apparatus of the class described, a straight line conveyortomove containers having caps loosely applied thereto, an elementrotatable about-afvertical axis which is positioned laterally of thepathof containers With said conveyor, said lelement including means adaptedto laterally engage a cap so that movement of the cap with a containerWill-turn said element about its axis and th'e engagement of the recessand cap will rotate the'latt'er with' respect to the container.

MILO BURNELL.

References cited in the nie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 904,879 Kirkegaard Nov. 24, 1908 `1,214,734 Williams Feb. 6,1917 1,311,392 Hey Aug. 5, 1919 1,332,279 Williams et al Mar. 2, 19201,470,343 Clark oct. 9, 1923 1,669,726 Seale May 15, 1928 1,743,945Williams Jan. 14, 1930 Y1,767,818 Smul'ski June 24, 1930 1,912,677v'Williams June 6, 1933 1,949,960 Franzen et al Mar. 6, 1934 V2,094,256Jonsson Sept. 28, 1937 2,349,256 Kittress May 23, 1944 2,351,348 MairJune 13, 1944 2.351.349 Mair June 13. 1944

